Growing pains and gains

It's not easy to grow up. Actually it's far from easy. Growing up can be a real "pain" for some of us. We are always doing things that someone else makes us do and aren't allowed to do all the things we like. Sometimes we feel trapped, sometimes we are fearful, and sometimes we just don't understand why we can't stay young forever. When we look back on all the hardships in life with a positive attitude（态度）, we realize that all of our growing pains actually turn into growing gains！

As a young girl my parents forced my sisters and me to do so many things that I never liked. They made me learn to play the violin and then the piano. At that time I hated music, just because it was what they wanted me to do. But looking back now, I am so glad that my parents encouraged me to take music lessons. Music has enriched my life in so many ways. I realize that my parents and teachers were always pushing me along, not because they wanted me to suffer but because they wanted me to succeed in life. They've always wanted me to have a better life than they did themselves.

Every moment of our lives we are either living or dying, so live life to its fullest！We are all going to experience growing pains, but they are just small pains in life. They might seem so huge at the time but we must be strong. Think about how we would feel if we had no fear and live life like that. The future is ours！

A little hard work and sweat never hurt anyone！If we realize that these pains are just small bumps（凸块）on our road to success we will realize that our growing pains are actually growing gains！

   Just like everyone，I have experienced ups and downs in my life. I am an aerospace engineer（航空工程师）from India. I was told by my relatives，close friends and others that it was _________ for a non-IT student to pursue（继续进行）a master's degree in IT and graduate from a US university.

I had never taken courses _________ to computers or programming. I was never interested in being a _________，but things changed. Computers became my companion and I _________ how dependent on them I was. I _________ imagining the backend processes happening inside the CPU and they amazed me. That's why I _________ to pursue a master's degree in IT.

At first，it was too _________. Coming from a middle-class family，the huge cost was a big _________. My English accent was terrible. Most _________，the course seemed impossible at first. But I never __________.

I got a few offers，but I decided to choose my university __________ it promises students to help them learn practically. During my first month，it was difficult to understand the American's __________ and finish my assignments. But I never gave up. I walked two miles to the __________ every day so that I could use my travel money to buy a meal. I started looking for __________ and I got an offer to work as a student assistant.

I took it as a __________, and I believed that hard work was my strength. Right now I am graduating with good grades and a job offer from a company that has asked me to start right after ________.

If you want to achieve something, you need to __________ yourself and start working on your __________.

Hard work always pays off. To be __________, you need to start from somewhere and always question yourself about the limits of how far you would go to __________ your goals.

   There was once a group of young people searching everywhere for happiness，but what they got was only trouble，sadness and suffering.

So they_____ to Socrates for advice on where happiness lay. But_____ giving any answers，Socrates asked them to help with building a_____ first. The group of guys had to_____ the task，laying aside their own business of seeking happiness. It took them a long time to cut down a tall tree，gouging out（挖出）the center. Through great effort，they made a boat out of the tree. They put the boat into a river，and then_____ together in it，singing with ___.

Socrates asked，“My children，do you have happiness now？” They answered in chorus（齐声地），“We couldn’t be happier！”Socrates_____ ，“That’s it！_____ you are too busy pursuing（追求）something to notice anything bitter，happiness will _____ .”

From the story I got to know that happiness______ hides behind every______ thing that you are involved in，and that you may only get pleasure through______ work and creativity.

We may have to______ pain in our daily life and in the process of seeking happiness. Sometimes we______ to look for happiness in______ things，like a new car，new clothes，etc. True long-term happiness，______，comes from within our______ and spirit. So why not turn suffering into______ life，and turn tears into the light in your heart? Only in this way can we find ______ happiness.

So my dear friends，just remember happiness is a state of mind and a matter of ______，and I wish you all a life of happiness.

   Everyone wants to be truly happy.【小题1】For example，we should be true to ourselves，we should think positively，we should always smile，we should learn to be thankful and so on. To be a truly happy person，not only must we know what we should do，but also we have to keep these don’ts in mind.

Never rest on the past.

Your past is just a story. Everyone has a past often full of pain，disappointment，missed opportunities，and unfulfilled（未实现的）expectations.【小题2】If you rest on the past all the time，those unhappy things will always bother you and you won’t be happy forever.

【小题3】

Be grateful for what you have got. You could waste hours counting the things you would like to improve，which would only take you away from appreciating your real life.

Never stop improving yourself.

We are all different，and there is no perfect direction or path to our personal development. The whole point is to become the best version of you，and never stop taking lessons from your own life experiences.【小题4】

Never lose a sense of purpose in what you are doing.

Your time and power are limited，so spend them wisely and use your energy on something meaningful.【小题5】A life without a purpose i» a life without the sun. If you lose a sense of purpose，you will never be truly happy.